USM Chancellor William E. Kirwan's Statement on the Death of John S. Toll, Former Head of the University System of Maryland
The University System of Maryland
community expresses its deepest sympathy on the July 15, 2011 passing of John S. Toll, an extraordinary
and brilliant man who devoted his life to advancing excellence. The founding chancellor of the University
System of Maryland, Dr. Toll was a gifted physicist, a dedicated and highly
effective higher education leader, and an exemplary public servant. He was one of the giants of Maryland higher
education.
As a young scientist, Dr. Toll
helped establish what became known as the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.
He would later join the physics faculty at the University of Maryland, College
Park and, as its chair, lead it to become one of the university's first
nationally renowned academic departments.
He left Maryland in 1965 to serve as
president of the State University of New York at Stony Brook for 13 years. When
John Toll returned to Maryland in 1978, he began a 10-year tenure as president
of the five-campus University of Maryland, guiding the development of policies
and practices that helped the system to move toward the ranks of the country's great
public university systems.
Never satisfied with the status quo
or mediocrity, Johnny relentlessly championed the merger of the then
five-campus University of Maryland with the six campuses of the Maryland Board
of Trustees of State Colleges and Universities, forming what is known today as
the University System of Maryland. To him, this merger was vital to move Maryland's
public higher education network toward national eminence. Then-Governor William Donald Schaefer
appointed Dr. Toll to serve as the first chancellor of the new 11-university system
in 1988. In his 11 years as president and chancellor, Johnny worked tirelessly
to improve the quality and salaries of faculty, encourage campuses to attract
brighter students, increase fund raising efforts significantly, and involve the
system more deeply in the state's economic development.
When Johnny stepped down as
chancellor in 1989, it was clear that he would never retire. That same year, he
was named chancellor emeritus of the Maryland system and appointed to head the
Universities Research Association, a position he held for five years. And in 1995, he was appointed president of Washington
College in Chestertown.
Even after leaving Washington
College in 2004, Johnny returned to the physics faculty of the University of
Maryland, College Park, teaching in a building that in 2002 was named in his
honor.
Johnny Toll
laid a firm foundation for what is today a strong and widely respected public
higher education system. His unabashed
optimism and his relentless pursuit of excellence had an electrifying effect in
mobilizing faculty, staff, and students to join his efforts. There can be no
doubt that the present excellence of the University System of Maryland had its
roots in the work of John Toll.
We join his wife Deborah and their
family in mourning his loss and, at the same time, celebrating his
extraordinary legacy.
MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR DR. JOHN SAMPSON TOLL
2 p.m. Thursday, September 8, 2011
Elsie and Marvin Dekelboum Concert Hall
Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
Reception immediately following the service at the Grand Pavilion (located outside the Dekelboum Concert Hall)
Complimentary parking will be available in the Stadium Drive Parking Garage, directly across the street from the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Please follow signs from the campus entrances. Link to parking and directions: http://claricesmithcenter.umd.edu/2010/c/about/parking/
Contact: Anne Moultrie
Phone: 301.445.2722
Email: amoultrie@usmd.edu
